In the open letter, the adoptive mum explained why parenting is so much more than giving birth

She added: "I didn't get to wake up in the middle of the night and nurse my sweet child. I did, though, spend many nights lying awake and praying to whomever might be listening to let us be next. Asking myself why we hadn't been chosen yet.

"Poring over adoption profiles and sending endless e-mail enquiries on children available for adoption and being told no, no, no over and over again.

"And like you said, ‘you can't possibly understand that feeling.’ I feel certain you have absolutely no idea."

Although the woman has never had a baby to keep her up at night, she revealed that she had other worries that made her lose sleep.

She said: "He may not wake me up to feed him every couple hours, but he screams out in his sleep - no doubt reliving past traumas from the life he led before being adopted.

"Not every experience is your experience. Not every mother is a mother because she gave birth. Not every child is yours or a 'part of you' because you grew it inside of you.

"My child will always be a part of me, because we're fighting for this life together."